Tom and I did back to back mini vacations. North Shore with Allison and Larrie at their cabin in Silver Bay and then NYC for Springsteen on Broadway, Tom's belated but incredible 60th birthday gift.
The pictures tell the whole story but a bit of context.
Allie and Larrie build their cabin, over the course fo 20 years, themselves, they have an amazing view of Lake Superior and sit hit up on a cliff. We had an amazing time hiking, exploring the north shore, playing games, reading books and relaxing. Their dog, Rex, even slept with us 2 of the nights!
The weather was cool and damp (rain/fog/drizzle) but the waves were big and it was perfect hiking weather. Day 1 was a hike at Cascade River, followed by a walk along the breakfront in Grand Marais and then a tour of a dog sled team courtesy of a friend of a friend. Dinner was Tom's cataplana and we were all happy at the end of the day. Day 2 was an "in over our head" 2 1/2 hour hike (that was thought was an hour), in the fog and with Allie barefoot. The views would/should have been amazing for how much we climbed up/down/lost the trail, etc. But, our reward was amazing burgers at Trestle Inn and then a night of steak, cribbage board game and a fire.
We were home for 2 days, just enough time to do chores and then catch our flight to NYC. It was amazing! The 1st day we walked over 11 miles and saw all the typical sites. Our hotel was literally 1 block from the theater so we were even able to see Bruce arrive for his show (the night before ours). We took Georgia to lunch, got to learn all about her time at NYU and then we were off to the show. It. Was.Epic. Words cant really describe how much of an artist/poet/story teller he is. His talent is amazing. He played guitar/piano fro 2 1/2 hours straight, no intermission, and Patty S sang 2 songs with him. He basically started with his 1st guitar and told the story of his life. Sad, joyful, tragic, blessed .... NYC also happened to be hit with once in a century rain that night so the weather sirens kept going off but he kept playing, no one wanted to leave their seats! Day 3 was more walking and a bike ride through Central Park. We tried to take the subway but it was flooded out from the night before. We met good friends (from India and MPLS) for dinner and had an incredible evening of persian food and german beer. Believe me, it was the perfect combo.
Now we are home for the long Labor Day weekend. We need 3 days to get caught up on wash and chores.
Definitely need to keep up the mini vacations.
T.
Got 1/2 way "there" on the subway and were kicked off as it got rerouted, ended up in Grenich Village and "witches" of waverly place
Day 1 hike
Watched Ced compete via live stream in NC. He made it into the 3rd round and got a lot of air time! 
Central Park 
The view of NYC from the castle in Central Park 
The boss
Oh yeah, the week were gone was also the 1st week of school - Kay's doing 1 grade para 
Our toliet in the hotel, NOT comfortable or made for a full grown person. 
Juniors for breakfast 2 days in a row, a classic 
Library from The Wiz 
Hike day 1 
We did it!! 
1st day of 3rd Class at VMI 
1st day 3rd grade para 
Day 2 hike 
Empire State of mind 
Grand Marais 
Epic
I LOVE big waves 
Spent more time in here than any other place in NY
Rain rain go away! 
Rockefeller Center 
Day 1 hike 
Times Square 
If you went inside, ANYWHERE, in NYC, you had to mask up and show proof of vaccination 
Grand Central Station 
Good friends (Tracy and Vidyha) 
1st day of Junior Year - Cole, Risser, Owen and Billy 
Tracy's happy place 
She did it, barefoot! 
Classic NYC pizza lunch
The castle in Central Park 
Sooraj, Vidhya and us 
The dogs! 
He was happier than he looked 
The Boss 
Rain wasn't going to stop us! 
SUPER good food 
Nature loves us 
They were representing everyone but NYU
The view from the top, day 2 hikeTracy now has an idea to spend 3 week in NYC, recreating all her favorite movie scenes and then posting them on social media without context or comment and see if people can guess what she's up to...weird....
